Hopping Universes
by G-TMZ
Summary: Set after the events of Sonic X, everyone has moved on with their lives, but when Shadow wants to learn more about his past life, and a serious fraud is revealed, a brand new adventure filled with danger emerges.


**Author's Note:** Hello and welcome to my very first fan fiction endeavor! I am G-TMZ. This particular story is one I have based off of the _Sonic X_ television series, which originally aired in 2003. This story includes Christopher Thorndyke—a character who I understand has received a lot a negative attention. Unfortunately for the so-called "Chris-haters", I have incorporated Chris into this story, and he will play a fairly major role.

The first chapter will introduce the characters and what happened after Chris returned to his world.

**The usual fanfiction disclaimer: **The _Sonic the Hedgehog_ franchise is owned and produced by Sega and/or its assignees. This work has been neither authorized nor endorsed by Sega or its assignees. I, the creator of this derivative work, assume no rights to its content. However, I respectfully submit that as a work of fan fiction, the creation of this derivative work is not done in a manner as to commercially compete with the original work(s), nor is its existence downplaying the marketing value of the original work(s). This work is, in a way, _promoting_ the franchise by facilitating the sharing of imaginations of fans of the franchise.

And so, without further ado…

* * *

Christopher Thorndyke walked down the path leading to the Physics Department of the Station Square Institute of Science, or SSISci (pronounced "sigh-sigh").

Eight years earlier, an event occurred in Station Square which scientists still couldn't fully understand. A child-sized blue hedgehog had spontaneously appeared one day in the middle of the street, along with his friends and Doctor Eggman. At first, the creature was believed to be a machine created to spy against the government. After all, what kind of hedgehog is blue and could run faster than the speed of sound? Who would have thought that this creature came from an entirely different universe? After overshooting the end of a highway, the hedgehog had accidentally landed in young Christopher's swimming pool.

Chris was the son of a beautiful actress and the chief executive of a huge home appliance company. As a child, Chris had often lived alone, with only Ella and Mister Tanaka, his servants; and Charles Thorndyke, his grandfather, to keep him company. It seemed as if his parents were always working, and although they wished they could spend more time with their son, they were always too busy. In an attempt to make up for their absences, Lindsey and Nelson Thorndyke invested much money in buying toys for their only child. If Chris had wanted a toy, he could have had it in his hand by the end of the day.

But Chris never wanted toys. Above all else, he wanted a friend, someone he could talk to and have fun with every day. When Sonic the Hedgehog landed in his pool, little did he know he would earn that very friend he had been wishing for.

They spent a year together—saving the world on numerous occasions from the schemes of the nefarious Doctor Eggman. And then one day, Dr. Kim Bickley, a physicist from the National Science Institute (the rival school of SSISci), had informed Chris's family a year after Sonic had first arrived that Sonic's world and Chris's world were once one, and with the presence of Sonic and his friends, the two worlds were beginning to merge. If Sonic didn't return to his world as soon as possible, the two worlds and their respective timelines may fuse, and time would hit a road block, stopping it in one place forever.

_It's not a theory_, Dr. Bickley had said. _Even as we speak the two timelines are converging. Soon they'll meld completely, and when they do, they'll cancel each other out, and time will stand still. The result will be catastrophic. The rejoined planets will be frozen in time, while billions of years pass in the rest of the universe. Once the timelines are fused, the effects will be irreversible._

Chris entered the Physics Department and sat at an empty seat, waiting for the day's lecture to begin.

_Funny_, Chris thought presently, _I can still remember clearly what they were saying._

He closed his eyes. _Has it really been seven years since Sonic left this world?_

Chris recalled the last time he ever saw Sonic. It was six months ago: Sonic and his friends had just won a huge battle against the evil Metarex in space. Right when Chris thought he could settle peacefully with Sonic, Doctor Eggman had told him that the connection between his world and Sonic's was going to sever soon if he didn't return to his world.

Chris could feel his eyes grow misty as he remembered the quick decision he had to make: return home or stay with Sonic.

He had chosen to return to be with his family and his friends at home: Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Helen, Danny, Francis, Tanaka, and Ella.

Eggman had created a machine that could quickly whisk him away back to his own world just in time for the universal tie between to two worlds to sever. Eggman couldn't promise what age Chris' body would be upon arrival. Quite frankly, Eggman couldn't promise whether he could be trusted or not. If he was telling the truth, then there was a strong possibility that Chris would never see Sonic ever again.

Yet some instinct in Chris told him he should trust Eggman and go home.

Fortunately, Eggman had told the truth, and the machine had carried him back to his home world safe and sound. Further, the action of passing between the worlds caused his body to revert to his normal age of eighteen. Chris was still struggling to understand how the whole age shift thing even happened.

Upon arrival, Chris had been greeted warmly by his human friends and family. His parents had scolded him: "Never do this to us again! You had us worried sick!"

In spite of that, they had hugged him so hard that Chris himself was worried he may start having breathing problems.

Danny and Francis were more eager to learn what Chris had experienced in Sonic's world.

"Did you really get to see Sonic?" Francis had asked.

"What was Sonic's world like?" was Danny's first question.

Helen only smiled at Chris, greeting him warmly. She knew that it probably wasn't easy for her friend to say goodbye to Sonic on his own, so she kept quiet about it. If Chris wanted to share what he had experienced, he'll share it eventually.

Helen was right. Through their endless inquires, Chris couldn't seem to bring himself to fully tell his friends what had happened in Sonic's world. Thinking about Sonic made Chris's heart sink, as a part of him knew he may never see his fast-running spiky blue friend again. Consequently, Chris was reluctant to think about him too often. Chris had simply tried to move on in life—continuing his scientific studies at school. Chris suddenly remembered his family was hosting a Thanksgiving party that weekend. Danny, Francis, and Helen's families were all invited.

Yet occasionally, he couldn't help but drift his thoughts towards the blue hedgehog that he never said a parting goodbye to. He simply couldn't give up hope that one day, the interdimensional connection will be restored, and he'll be able to laugh and talk with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and heck, even Eggman again.

Suddenly, the sound of a bell pierced through his thoughts, abruptly ending his brief nostalgia. The physics lecture was starting.

* * *

After the encounters with the Metarex, life on Sonic's world returned to normal—that is, Eggman's persistent attempts to establish an "Eggman Empire" and Sonic's persistent success in kicking Eggman's butt.

Secretly, both Sonic and Eggman enjoyed this routine. Both knew that if either one of them got their way, life would become boring: Eggman would have no one to plot revenge against if he defeated Sonic, and Sonic wouldn't have any dangerous adventures to take if he defeated Eggman. This gave rise to an endless rivalry.

Sonic had witnessed Chris's departure. All he saw was Chris in a rocket ship built by Eggman, shooting off into the sky. Sonic had accelerated as fast as he could, but before he could jump to save Chris, the rocket disappeared in an impressive burst of light.

Sonic and his friends knew that in spite of himself, Eggman was not an overly cruel man—he would never kill Chris by exploding him in a rocket just to get him out of the way like the Metarex would have.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles confronted Eggman and asked what he had done with Chris. Eggman explained the circumstances—how Chris had to leave as quickly as possible, and how he couldn't have said goodbye.

"How can we trust you?" Knuckles had asked.

"Tails, did I hear that right? I think Knuckles said that he didn't trust Eggman!" said Sonic.

"Yeah, that's what I heard too… Are you sure this is Knuckles?" Tails had replied with a smile.

Knuckles glared balefully at them.

Eggman chuckled softly but decided it was probably the right time to intervene: "Knuckles, as the guardian of the Master Emerald, you should be able to feel major fluctuations in the Chaos energy surrounding the Master Emerald. On the day Chris left to his world, did you feel anything different about the Master Emerald?"

Sonic and Tails' jibes forgotten, Knuckles rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I might have. Yeah, actually I did. It was weird—almost like something was torn."

"That must have been the connection between our two worlds cutting off."

"Wait… does this mean we'll never see Chris or Chuck or the rest of them ever again?" said Tails.

Eggman chuckled again. "The kid asked the same thing. It is a possibility that we must consider."

Knuckles bit his lip and his eyes dropped to the floor. Tails looked away misty-eyed. In contrast, Sonic snorted incredulously and said that they would figure something out eventually. "Trust me, this won't be the last we ever heard of him!"

* * *

Presently, Sonic and his friends were all at their respective homes. Each had received a light yellow envelope in the mail, addressed to them by Cream the Rabbit.

_Dear Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and the Chaotix Detectives:_

_My birthday is coming up, and I am turning 7.  
__Please come to my house for a party this Saturday.  
__My mother, Cheese and I are going to be baking a delicious cake!_

_Your friend,  
__Cream_

Naturally, all of Cream's invitees responded positively to her invitation. Who could refuse an invitation to a party hosted by Cream and her mother? And all of them knew that Cream's mother baked delectable cakes. Besides, it gave them something to do. (They had recently stomped out another one of Eggman's lamer attacks, and recently, they started realizing they had nothing to do. "It's almost like our _job_ is fighting Eggman!" Sonic had joked. Knuckles, whose duty was to protect the Master Emerald, reasoned that the party would only be for a few hours.)

Uplifted by the prospect of a party, everyone seemed cheerful.

Sonic visited Tails at his workshop.

"Hey Tails! What's up?"

Tails paused his maintenance on the _X Tornado_ and cheerfully responded, "Hi Sonic! Didja get the invitation to Cream's party?"

"Sure did! Do you have any idea what I should get her?"

Tails grinned. "Flowers. Lots of them."

Both of them laughed, and Tails went over to pick something up. Sonic noticed it was a green watering can and he smiled sadly.

"Looking after that seed Cosmo left behind?"

"It's not a seed anymore!" Tails said ungrudgingly.

Indeed, after planting the seed that was left behind by Cosmo, it had grown magnificently. The plant had grown to be two feet tall already, and it had three large leaves branching off its stem.

Sonic stroked the plant gently. Its leaves felt soft and smooth. Sonic knew that Tails cared a lot about Cosmo, and having to be the one to pull the trigger on his close friend had devastated him. The only thing he had left was a seed Cosmo had left behind. The seed was now this plant that Tails was carefully maintaining in his workshop.

Sonic stared blankly at the plant. He still felt a slimmer of guilt for not being able to rescue Cosmo after Tails had shot him and Shadow straight at her. Then he shook his head. Whatever blame Tails had initially cast on him had been quickly forgotten. Besides, there was very little he could have done. Everyone had returned mostly to their normal selves after the Metarex.

Sonic looked up at Tails. He could see that he was thinking about Cosmo too. He decided it was time to leave him alone.

"I guess I'll go get some flowers."

With this, they both grinned at each other.

* * *

Millions of miles away on another planet, a mysterious figure sat at the top of a cliff, looking over the edge. The figure sat still and quietly with his eyes closed. He was recovering. He had injuries all of his body that were still healing from the shock; he had used up virtually all of the energy he had in the previous battle. But more importantly, he was thinking. He was thinking deeply about what he had experienced in the past few months he had been conscious. Beyond those few months, his mind was blurred. He had hazy recollections of a girl named Maria, whom he could remember he cared strongly for.

Then he remembered something that boy had said. Something about how he had somehow helped Sonic and his feeble companions in the past. Sonic and his companions seemed to recognize him when he appeared with the Chaos Emeralds, but he could not remember ever seeing them before. And yet they had looked surprised when they saw him because they recognized him. The boy had even given him the two inhibitor rings which were presently on his wrists. They helped channel his energy to make sure he doesn't use up all of it in a battle—something that could prove fatal.

Shadow the Hedgehog opened his eyes. He was sure of what he would do now. In his hand, he held a glowing Chaos Emerald. He needed to know more about his past so he can discover what his future is—what his purpose is. Doctor Eggman had promised him information about his past, but he never got it. Instead, Shadow would ask Sonic about his past.


End file.
